Why did the Hundred Years’ War last for more than a century?

The Hundred Years’ War lasted for more than a century because it was an intermittent struggle driven by a complex, deep-seated conflict over supremacy between England and France.12

The conflict was prolonged by several compounding factors:

• Territorial Disputes: A central issue was the status of English-held fiefs in France, particularly the duchy of Guyenne. The French kings' suzerainty over these lands led to frequent administrative interference, which the English resisted, resulting in recurring cycles of confiscation and military intervention.23
• Succession Claims: The war was fueled by disputes over the legitimate succession to the French throne, involving multiple generations of claimants from both kingdoms.12
• Economic and Political Factors: The struggle was exacerbated by commercial rivalries, greed for plunder, and bitter litigation between the two states.2
• Intermittent Nature: The war was not a continuous campaign but a series of conflicts punctuated by truces and periods of negotiation, which allowed the struggle to span over 100 years before concluding in 1453.24